Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on 14 October that a container ship carrying more than 2,500 containers sank south of the Strait of Hormuz after striking a naval mine while attempting to transit through an “unauthorized” route in the strait.

The vessel caught the mine while passing through the “dangerous” route in violation of Iranian naval warnings and sank on Wednesday morning after being set on fire, according to the IRGC navy.

“The Iranian Navy has adopted a new deployment formation, positioning operational units east of the Strait of Hormuz and across the Arabian Sea and the Sea of Oman,” Iran’s navy said Wednesday, according to Tasnim News Agency.

It added that it “maintains comprehensive and continuous, real-time surveillance of enemy activities and vessel traffic in these areas.”

The navy urged “all vessels to comply with international regulations and strictly refrain from switching off their electronic equipment,” the statement went on to say, while calling on vessels to coordinate with Iranian authorities.

Tehran has in recent days escalated its strikes on ships violating its newly imposed regulations in the critical waterway.

“If the Americans think the Strait of Hormuz is open, let them come closer. We are impatient to sink US warships,” said IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Ozmaei on Wednesday.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued four new warnings of separate attacks in the Strait of Hormuz on 13 October, reporting that a tanker and three container ships were struck by unknown projectiles.

Maritime intelligence firm Vanguard Tech identified the vessels as the container ships GFS Pride, GFS Giselle, and Al Saadiyat, and the tanker Alfonso.

The latest incidents bring UKMTO’s total to 24 warning notices and three advisories issued for the Strait of Hormuz so far this month.

Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naghdi, senior advisor to the IRGC commander-in-chief, said on 7 October that Tehran will “soon” block the “illegal routes” established in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz has been shut since the start of Washington and Tel Aviv’s brutal and illegal war on Tehran that began in February.

Iran, as part of its terms in the June memorandum of understanding (MoU), demands sovereignty over the strait in cooperation with Oman and without US interference. However, it has repeatedly welcomed regional participation.